The tiny but affluent city-state will organize the first of five Grand Prix in either September or early October 2008, with an option to extend to 2013, trade and industry minister S. Iswaran told a briefing.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said he was confident safety issues would be resolved to allow night-racing, a move designed to boost global TV ratings.
“Yes,” he said via videolink from Barcelona, when asked if the Singapore Grand Prix would be a night event.
Iswaran said hosting an F1 race will bring Singapore closer to its ambition of becoming a “vibrant, global city,” adding that the race is estimated to generate about 100 million Singapore dollars (66 million US) a year in incremental receipts.
It’s been reported that Malaysian officials were not happy with the Singapore race but there’s not much they can do in the face of the marketing juggernaut of Bernie Ecclestone.
Speaking of which, when do you think that old man (79 years old) will step down? What will happen then?
Credit AFP for the quote.